NOLA Bookfair Goes Radical

Local and regional print-smiths will converge  for the annual New Orleans Bookfair this Sunday, November 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (1618 Oretha Castle .Haley Blvd), with a kickoff presentation on French land occupation movement ZAD occurring on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Available for perusal and purchase will be an array of books, ‘zines, periodicals, and other verbal goods from vendors representing the gambit of bookish interests.  While the fair is sure to feature staples of New Orleans’ literary scene, it will also offer an opportunity become familiar with small presses, book arts collectives, artisans, and other independent outfits based in the Great New Orleans area and beyond.  There will also be presentations and panels appropriate for various audiences, from the youngest readers to the literary aesthetes to the politically radical.

Now in its twelfth year, the New Orleans Bookfair returns to Zeitgeist after stops at Frenchman St. and the CBD.  This year marks the first that the NOLA Bookfair joins forces with the Anarchist Bookfair.  The anarchist influence has inspired panels and readings with locally relevant contexts that address such issues as land use, labor practices, and the impact of social movements.

The full slate of readings and speakers includes:

Saturday

2 p.m  ZAD Presentation and Q&A–A presentation on France’s most notorious land occupation against an infrastructure project given by one of its very own residents, followed by a conversation on similar struggles in the United States.

Sunday

11 a.m. Story Time –Story Time and Puppet Craft for kids with theatre arts teacher Ms. Lara Ferguson and Librarian Ms. Adele Marrs from New Orleans Public Library.

12 p.m. Poetry Reading—Readings of original published and unpublished work by a selection of local poets. Featuring Jose Torres-Tama, J.K. Wheel, Monet Maloof, Geoff Munsterman, Megan Burns, Luka Miro, and Georgios Tsangaris.

1 p.m. Self-Publishers Share—Readings of orginial non-fiction or self-published work by local and visiting writers. Featuring R. Kay, Andru Okun, Nyx Alacarte, Bruce Reily, and Nicki Yowell.

2 p.m. Sobriety, Recovery, Stigma, and Community—Members of Trystereo, a local harm reduction collective, lead a three-part discussion of radical communities’ and individuals’ responses to substance abuse and recovery.

3 p.m. Current Union Struggles in New Orleans—Members of UNITE HERE!, the New Orleans Workers’ Center, and SEIU Local 21 LA discuss current union struggles in New Orleans.

4 p.m. Anarchist Perspectives on the Ferguson Rebellion with Anti-State STL—“Antistatestl” is a blog focusing on anti-capitalist news and analysis in and around St. Louis, run by anarchists who have been active participants in various social movements over the past 10 or so years. This will be a discussion of the history of racial dynamics in the St. Louis area, the narrative around outside agitators and whiteness, anarchist participation in social movements, race politics and the Ferguson Rebellion, the strengths and limitations of rioting as a form of struggle, dynamics around age and gender present in the rebellion.